New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed former Tehelka editor in chief Tarun Tejpal to surrender within two weeks, even as it heard his challenge to the Bombay High Court's conviction in the 2013 rape case.

Tejpal was convicted by the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court on August 6 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping a former colleague. The High Court had overturned the 2021 acquittal handed down by the Goa Sessions Court.

During the hearing on Tuesday, the bench made it clear that Tejpal would have to comply with the surrender requirement before the appeal could be taken up in the usual course. Tejpal's counsel argued that the High Court had already stayed the conviction and that an immediate surrender should not be insisted upon.

However, the Goa government maintained that the appeal could not proceed unless Tejpal first surrendered or obtained exemption from surrender from the Supreme Court.

The Goa government has also approached the top court seeking a higher sentence in the case.

The case stems from allegations made by a woman journalist who accused Tejpal of sexually assaulting her in a hotel elevator during an official event in Panaji in 2013.

He was arrested later that year and charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including rape, sexual harassment and wrongful confinement. Tejpal pleaded not guilty throughout the trial.

In May 2021, the Goa Sessions Court acquitted him, holding that the prosecution had not proved the case beyond reasonable doubt. That verdict was later challenged by the Goa government in the Bombay High Court, which convicted Tejpal and awarded the 10 year sentence this month.

With the Supreme Court now directing him to surrender, the matter has entered a fresh legal phase as both sides continue to press their arguments before the apex court.